Big Whoop.

"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason, which today arm you against the present."
Marcus Aurelius



Immunizations. In the past it was state law that all children old enough for school must get specific immunizations in order to attend and must provide documentation accordingly. It is in the best interest for the health of the child, as well as for the school as a whole to keep kids free from disease. However, some children may be exempt from being immunized because of religious, philosophical, or simply parental beliefs. Currently, in all 50 states there are exemptions to the immunization rule (the fact that there are exemption in all 50 states has just come about in 2006).
Some parents choose not to get vaccines for many reasons. First there are religious reasons and I believe these are valid. Yes I believe in vaccinating children, but I do not think we should make people go against their core relgious beliefs. However, some parents don't want to vaccinate children because they believe that exposure to the disease (extremely small amount in the vaccine) is unnecessary or the risks from getting the vaccine do not outweight the benefit. At first, kids whose parents chose not to immunize them did not get sick because of herd immunity (if everyone else is immune then the disease isn't running rampant). New researchshows that there is a 53% increase of pertussis (whooping cough) in states that more freely allow exemptions. 53% -- that is huge! Pertussis is a serious childhood disease with many possible complications. Is it worth the risk not the vaccinate?
This study was in JAMA (JAMA. 2006;296:1757-1763.) and the author stated that we need to find a middle ground where parents have autonomy yet the overall health of the community is not in danger.